Deerinda Lowe never saw it coming. A semi-truck ran the red light and plowed over the top of her car. The 18-wheeler barely missed her head but practically severed her arm. Her legs were caught underneath the engine. The car literally collapsed around her, trapping her inside.
EMT Jay Scott describes Deerinda’s condition when he arrived on the scene. “We could tell right away that both of her arms were broken. We knew at least one of her legs was broken and possibly the other one. Plus we were pretty sure she had some internal injuries to go with that. It was a low percentage on whether she was going to make it or not. She definitely had life threatening injuries.”
Rescue workers tried for 45 minutes to get Deerinda out of the car. Finally, she was life-flighted to Methodist hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dr. Renn Crichlow says, “It was very grave. She had lost a lot of blood when she first came in. The fractures that she had were all very serious. Then when you throw on top of it that she had all these injuries and all these other lacerations and tears in the skin… she had a ruptured spleen and a ruptured liver. She was in a very, very serious condition.”
For two weeks, doctors tried to put Deerinda back together. She had to be resuscitated twice and suffered a massive stroke. She had seven different surgeries, but remained in a coma. Doctors offered little hope for her survival. Deerinda’s mother didn’t move from her daughter’s bedside. Even though she wasn’t a Christian, she begged God to save her life.
“When I first woke up,” Deerinda shares, “the only thing I remembered was seeing God. I was on the stairway of heaven, and we were standing at the bottom and God was holding me in His arms. I was held like a baby. I can remember hearing the voice behind me talking to me saying, ‘It’s okay. You’re fine. You’re safe now.’ I knew that God was there. I just knew it. I did not see His face, but I knew He was holding me in His arms. I knew He had saved me. I needed it. I was never saved. I wasn’t a Christian. I never knew how to actually ask God to forgive me for all of my sins.”
Deerinda had a long and hard physical recovery ahead of her. She remained bed ridden at home for three more months. She had to learn how to do everything again.
“I was just so scared. I thought I would never walk. I had a physical therapist at home that worked with me and stuff. So I learned to walk on a walker. Then on the 24th they took the walker from me, and I was walking on my own. They were watching me and I just couldn’t believe it. I was crying, like ‘Oh my gosh, I am walking.’”
Deerinda has surpassed all expectations for her recovery.
“They said that I would probably never use the right arm ever again. They didn’t know for sure if I would ever walk right again. But, I do walk and I do use my right arm.”
Dr. Renn Crichlow says, “A lot of times we see patients with bad bone and joint injuries. But to see somebody with a number of bone and joint injuries and the abdominal injuries that she had, the belly injuries and the stroke, to have come back like this, it’s really phenomenal. It is an exceptional recovery. Absolutely.”
Even more than a second chance at life, Deerinda is thankful God saved her for eternity.
“There is a God out there. He will listen to you if you want to talk to Him and have Him come into your heart. I’m lucky that I’m here and I got a second chance that I did not die, and got to accept Him into my heart. He forgave me for all my sins.”
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